Taking a monkey from the forest is wrong. Buying and selling them is wrong. But the biggest crime of all is maltreating or abandoning them.
We publish in English and Spanish. Spanish translations are by Gabriela. We welcome visitors. Our e-mail address is
philip.cordrey@gmail.com.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

ARFA Canaote Primate Rescue Centre.

(Canaote Associacion de Rescatede Fauna ).

What is a centre? The expression is one of the most abused in general use. On every high Street you can see the names, Telephone Centre, Centre for Navigation, Centre for Communications, etc.

They are of course, nothing of the kind. They are simply businesses providing a particular service. A centre implies that every aspect of the subject is covered.

We call Canaote a centre for a very good reason. Perhaps a casual look at us does not show the extent of our activities.

We shelter monkeys brought to us. The monkeys come to us for many reasons.

They have been confiscated from individuals illegally killing the mothers and trapping and selling the babies.

They are brought here by owners who have experienced domestic problems caused by monkey ownership. i.e. A member of the family, frequently a young person is bitten by the monkey. Then again, complaining neighbours or authorities. Monkeys are also bought to us as a result of being ‘rescued’. There are many reasons why monkeys are brought to us.

We council the public who possess monkeys that have health problems. We advise on diet and treatment in coordination with Veterinary services.

We give lectures to universities and schools on care and protection of wildlife.

We have an outreach programme that visits monkeys owned by individuals in their homes.

We operate a blog giving almost daily news of the children in our care.

We monitor the health of our monkeys by frequent inspection of their faeces for signs of parasitic infections. We have a small laboratory and equipment for this purpose.

We host visits by Universities and school groups, as well as by clubs and individuals.

We invite journalists to publish details of our work in order to educate the public on care of our valuable wildlife. Recently, we have been very successful in this with articles appearing in national as well as local newspapers.

Where appropriate, we respond to requests by responsible monkey owners for partners for their existing monkey. A separate story about one such case will be published here soon.

We maintain regular contact with human families of the monkeys. We try to lessen the feeling of loss or grief when an individual is forced to part with a primate friend.

What does it cost to maintain a monkey for a week?

Food, Staff, Enclosure maintenance, Veterinary Service and medicines.

At the current rate of inflation, we spend 160.00 per monkey every week.

This money comes largely from me but a number of people do donate sums each month and others bring food gifts and replacement toys like swings and hammocks. All this is very welcome and every cent counts.

If we had more regular donations we would be able to accept more children. We would like to construct a couple of rooms suitable for accommodating voluntary workers but funds do not run to that at this time. Cost of construction would be in the order of $US4000.

I think you will agree that we really are a centre in the full meaning of the word.

Domingo, 18 de octubre de 2009ARFA Cañaote Centro de Rescate de Primates.